Arthritis: learn how to avoid the disease – 04/25/2023 – Equilíbrio

What can we do to prevent arthritis as we age?

A race that was once easy can now be more difficult to complete. Or a tennis match can leave you with a sore hip or ankle for days.

Painful, stiff or swollen joints are a common complaint among older adults. For many people, they are the first sign of what can seem like an inevitable diagnosis: arthritis.

In a recent survey of more than 2,200 people between the ages of 50 and 80 in the United States, 60% said they had been told by a doctor that they have some form of arthritis. And three-quarters of them considered arthritis and joint pain a natural aspect of aging.

But arthritis isn’t inevitable as we age, says Kelli Dominick Allen, an exercise physiologist at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

“Sometimes people get joint pain and they don’t do anything because they think everyone gets arthritis as they age,” Allen points out. “But we shouldn’t take arthritis passively.”

“Arthritis” is a term that encompasses over one hundred types of inflammatory joint conditions, each of which can arise for different reasons. Many of these causes have little to do with age, Allen points out.

But a degenerative disease of the joints, osteoarthritis [ou artrose], occurs more frequently as a person ages, points out geriatrician Wayne McCormick of the University of Washington School of Medicine. “Basically, it’s joints that wear out,” he says.

According to Allen, osteoarthritis is seen more commonly among people over the age of 50, especially women.

Scientists aren’t exactly sure why some people are more likely than others to experience joint inflammation and pain as they age. But about 12% of osteoarthritis cases are the result of joint injuries, such as torn meniscus or ligaments, occurring at a younger age.

Arthritis is also more common among people who have a family history of the condition or who have certain chronic conditions such as obesity, heart disease or diabetes.

For some people, joint pain limits their physical activity as they age. But others, whose x-rays can reveal severe wear and tear on their joints, may not feel pain, says McCormick. For this reason, according to him, “each person needs to develop their own plan to stay healthy and functional, with the help of their doctor.”

Allen says that for most people, prevention of arthritis in old age should start many years before it becomes a problem. For this it is necessary to take measures to prevent injuries to the joints during the practice of sports or physical exercise and, when they occur, to recover properly.

For people who are not at risk for sports-related injuries, staying physically active and maintaining a healthy weight can help prevent excessive wear and tear on joints and reduce pain if arthritis sets in later in life. , indicates Allen.

In a 2015 review of 44 clinical trials, researchers found that participants who exercised regularly experienced less knee pain linked to osteoarthritis and had better physical function and quality of life.

“It really helps if you can do low-impact exercise, like using a stationary bike, where your knees, hips and joints don’t take as much impact,” McCormick points out. Strengthening muscles like the quadriceps and hamstrings helps support the joints, he points out.

In addition to regular exercise, wearing knee or ankle support braces, over-the-counter pain relievers like ibuprofen or acetaminophen, or steroid injections into the troubled joint are all options that help alleviate pain to varying degrees, says McCormick.

Not all options work for everyone, so it’s important to look for what helps you stay active.

Likewise, dietary supplements such as glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate—or herbal remedies such as boswellia (an extract made from the bark of the boswellia tree)—may help relieve symptoms for some people. But, according to Allen, there is not much scientific evidence to prove its value.

“Several clinical trials have been done, but the evidence for the effects of these herbal medicines is unclear.”

McCormick, however, says that in his experience, “it’s very unusual for these supplements to be harmful.” So it’s worth trying them out – or stop using them if they aren’t helping.

Ultimately, Allen points out, the best way to reduce your risk of developing arthritis later in life is to find ways to live an active, healthy, and pain-free lifestyle.

Many of the actions that reduce the risk of other chronic conditions like diabetes or heart disease are powerful tools for also reducing the risk of age-related joint disease, Allen points out.

“A person who is maintaining a healthy lifestyle is already doing the most important things to reduce their risk of arthritis,” she says.

Translated by Clara Allain